YeahWrite #312 Weekly Writing Challenge Kickoff

March is the Worst and Other Complaints

My therapist told me I need to look for the good things when I’m feeling troubled. Here’s the good thing about March: it’s over. March around here was filled with sickness, rain, snow, more sickness, too much work, that ominous feeling that it will be winter forever and I’ll never not finish this work and oh my god please don’t let me get another sinus infection. (Note: I totally got my 439th sinus infection of the season).

But now it’s April! A new month is the perfect opportunity to make assessments about what things need to change and what things are working. For me, I’ve spent the morning cleaning my desk (it was horrifying). I have a few items that I should have done weeks ago and have been clogging up my brain. I’ll spend the next week catching up on all the things, cleaning up my work space, and making room for creativity. If you’re already in that space where you’ve made the space (mental or otherwise) to focus on your writing, then let this be the month you explore new avenues (hint: see below) or really buckle down on that WIP.

Tell us in comments about your April.

New! Monthly Microprose Challenge

In honor of our 6th birthday, we’re bringing back a beloved challenge: microprose! If you’re looking for a fun way to stretch your writer wings (is that a thing?), check out this prompted challenge to write a story (fiction OR nonfiction) in exactly 42 words. You’ll have to check back Wednesday for the prompt and then submit your piece by 10PM EDT. I know it’s a short window to write, but I have faith in you.

YeahWrite Super Challenge

Our fourth Super Challenge is officially open for registration! We’re heading back to the land of fiction for Super Challenge #4. Early registration is open from now until 11:59pm ET on April 12 so sign up today to take advantage of our discounted rate. Please be sure to also sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any announcements for the upcoming challenge.

Bring us your personal essays and creative nonfiction!

The Nonfiction Challenge grid opens on Monday at midnight EST. This is the best place on the ‘net to showcase your best writing. Make us laugh, make us cry, make us think, and above all: make us care.

Nonfiction Know-How: Constructive Criticism Part II

Ever hear “it’s better to give than receive?” Well, in the case of criticism, it’s certainly easier to give than receive. For part two of what has now turned into a two part post, we’re going to dive into receiving criticism. Because you know what? It kind of sucks, but it’s good for us as individuals and as a community. Like vaccines. Learn even more from Rowan here.

Is fiction more your thing?

Prompt up!

Prompt upis our optional weekly writing prompt for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here’s how it works: we announce a sentence prompt from last week’s winning nonfiction post. It’s your job to use that prompt in your story or poem in some way. Feel free to use it as your first sentence, move it somewhere else, change it, or float it down to other territories.

Amy gave us a window into her childhood in her moving essay, Foster Home #2. This week’s prompt up taken directly from her essay is: “I steal cold hot dogs from the refrigerator.”

April ‘Poetry’ Slam: Microprose

Charles Dickens was paid by the word, and it shows. I mean, if you’ve ever read Oliver Twist, we bet you found yourself wondering if all those words were really necessary to move the story forward. It’s a question we should all face every day while editing our own work, to be honest: why all these words? How can we tell our story without forcing the reader to slog through a whole bunch of extra text and without losing the essence or the voice? This month, instead of looking for ways to flesh out your writing, we’ll be talking about ways to trim it down – just in time for the first grid of our monthly microprose challenge! Learn more from Christine here.

Winners’ Round-Up

In case you missed them, you can find last week’s YeahWrite staff picks and crowd favorites all laid out for you on Friday’s winners’ post. Leave the winners some love in the comments. They will love you right back, we guarantee it.

Weekend Writing Showcase

The weekend’s not over: the yeah write Weekend Writing Showcase is still open. Have something to add? Old posts and new are welcome. No moderation, no voting. It’s a laid-back relaxed kind of place. Just leave your commercial or sponsored posts at home. Drop by, share your work, and while you’re there, visit your fellow yeah writers.

About the author:

Michelle submitted her first entry to YeahWrite in March 2012 and they haven’t been able to get rid of her since. After nearly 20 years in the insurance/employee benefits industry, she decided to give it all up to pursue writing full time. Her work has been featured on The Huffington Post and xoJane, as well as several local sites near her northern NJ home. She blogs at Michelle Longo.